Friday, 14 June 2013

Watching, Waiting & Wanting

I've tried on many occasions to write something about 'Saturn 3' but, ultimately, have realised that there isn't much to say. I can usually work with bad films, but vapid, pointless films, made up of plundered parts poorly put together, are more difficult. The scenario is dull and drearily executed, the actors are boring and wooden and, in Harvey Keitel's case, dubbed. We also get to see Kirk Douglas' 52 year old dimpled derriere. It's not a favourite of mine, if I'm honest. The film or the arse.

There is one funny thing about the production. The name of the idiot who wrote it.

It's not Martin Amis' best work as a writer, but hanging around with Keitel and Douglas did inspire him to create the hilariously narcissistic movie star characters in "Money" - so he definitely got his (ahem) money's worth out of the production.

His early A4 hardback book "Invasion of the Space Invaders" would probably be of interest to this blog. It's a cherishably odd personal account of the early arcade game cabinet scene. It's a bit like discovering Nabokov has written a whole book about his liking for the Rubik's Cube or something.

I find Saturn 3 dull and unlikable though. Some nice visuals, and even a traditional Amis chess-playing scene, but it has no heart.